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Designation: D5338 − 15
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D5338 − 15
10. Test Specimen
10.1 The test specimen should have sufficient carbon to
yield carbon dioxide that can be adequately measured by the
trapping apparatus or CO2 measurements.
10.2 All basic composting parameters, such as C/N, oxygen
in the composting vessel, porosity, and moisture content should
be optimized so as to make a good composting process
possible. The C/N ratio should preferably be between 10 and
40 for both the inoculum and test substance combined. Oxygen
levels in the composting vessel should be at least 6 % at all
times and no free-standing water nor clumps of material should
be present.
10.3 Test specimens may be in the form of films, formed
FIG. 2 Optional Set-Up Using a Gas Chromatograph
articles, dog bones, granules, powder, or other, and conform to
Practice D618.
7.2 Analytical-Grade Cellulose, for thin-layer chromatogra-
phy with a particle size of less than 20 µm as positive control.5 11. Procedure
7.3 Polyethylene, as a negative control. It should be in the 11.1 Preparation of the Samples:
same form as the form in which the sample is tested (polyeth- 11.1.1 Obtain an inoculum from a properly operating aero-
ylene film for film samples, polyethylene pellets in case sample bic composting plant treating municipal solid waste, or the
is in the form of pellets, etc.). organic fraction thereof. If required, further stabilize the
inoculum at the laboratory in order to obtain a low CO2
8. Hazards production (see 9.1.).
11.1.1.1 Screen the inoculum to less than 10 mm and
8.1 This test method requires the use of hazardous chemi-
manually remove and discard any large inert items (pieces of
cals. Avoid contact with the chemicals and follow manufactur-
glass, stone, wood, etc.). Determine volatile solids, dry solids
er’s instructions and Material Safety Data Sheets.
and nitrogen content according to Test Methods D3590,
8.2 The compost inoculum may contain sharp objects. Take D1888, and APHA Test Methods 2540 D and 2540 E.
care when handling it. 11.1.2 Determine volatile solids, dry solids and carbon
8.3 The composting vessels are not designed to withstand content of all the test substances according to APHA Test
high pressures. The system should be operated at close to Methods 2540 D and 2540 E and Test Method D4129.
ambient pressure. 11.1.3 Weigh out roughly 600 g of dry solids of inoculum
and mix with about 100 g of dry solids coming from the
9. Compost Inoculum sample. Adjust the dry solids content of the mixture in the
9.1 The compost inoculum should be two to four months old vessel to approximately 50 % with distilled water. Add ammo-
well-aerated compost coming from the organic fraction of nium chloride if the C/N ratio is more than 40. Weigh vessels
municipal solid waste and sieved on a screen of <10 mm. If with all of the contents immediately before initiation of the
such a compost is not available, compost from plants, treating composting process.
green, or yard waste, or mixtures of green waste and municipal 11.1.4 The blank consists of the inoculum only, containing
solid waste may be used. It is recommended that the compost about 600 g of dry solids. As references, use thin-layer
inoculum produces between 50 and 150 mg of CO2 per gram of chromatography cellulose as a positive control and polyethyl-
volatile solids over the first ten days of the test, and has an ash ene as a negative control.
content of less than 70 % and a pH between 7 and 8.2. Total dry 11.1.5 The test material may be in the form of films, formed
solids should be between 50 and 55 %. articles such as dog bones, granules, or powder. The maximum
surface area of a compact test material used should be about 2
9.2 The compost inoculum should be as free from larger by 2 cm. In case the original test material is larger, reduce it in
inert materials (glass, stones, metals, etc.) as possible. These particle size.
items should be removed manually as much as possible to 11.1.6 No more than about 3⁄4 of the volume of the test
produce a homogeneous compost inoculum. vessel should be filled with test mixture. Sufficient headspace
9.3 It is recommended to use compost of sufficient porosity is required in order to provide enough space for manual
to enable conditions to be as aerobic as possible. Addition of shaking of the test mixture.
structural material, such as small wood particles, or persistent 11.2 Start-Up Procedure—Initiate aeration of the compost-
or poorly biodegradable inert material may prevent the com- ing vessels with air-flow rates that are sufficiently high to
post from sticking together and clogging during the test. ensure that oxygen levels do not drop below 6 % in the exhaust
air. Oxygen levels should be closely controlled during the first
5
For development of this test method, Avicel, available from EM Chemicals, week and measured at least twice daily. Adjust air-flow rates as
Inc., Hawthorne, New York, was used. needed.
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D5338 − 15
11.3 Operating Procedure: position is well established. This allows the theoretical quantity
11.3.1 The composting vessels are incubated in the dark or of carbon dioxide evolution to be calculated as follows:
in diffuse light for a period of 45 days in an enclosure that is material 5 w % carbon
free from vapors toxic to microorganisms. The temperature is w/100 3 g of material charged 5 Y g carbon charged to
maintained at 58°C (62°C). In special cases, for example, compost vessel 5 C i
when the melting point of the test material is low, another C1O 2 →CO2
temperature may be chosen. This temperature should be 12 g C yields 44 g CO2
constant during the test and kept in a range of 62°C. The 44 3 Y
Y g C yields g CO2
change of temperature should be justified and clearly indicated 12
in the test report. 12.2 Determine the cumulative CO2 production (in grams)
11.3.2 Check CO2 and O2 concentrations in the outgoing air from the test substances.
at least daily with a minimum time interval of 6 h after the first 12.2.1 Determine the amount of CO2 produced by the
week for the remainder of the test. difference, in millilitres of titrant, between the test substance
11.3.3 Check air flow daily before the composting vessels and blank Ba(OH)2 traps. Perform the titration with 0.05 N
and at the outlets, ensuring that no leaks are present in the HCl.
complete system. Adjust air flow to maintain a CO2 concen-
12.2.1.1 When CO2 enters the absorber bottles, it reacts in
tration of at least 2 % volume over volume to allow accurate
the following manner:
determination of CO2 level in the exhaust air.
11.3.4 Ensure proper composting conditions. Shake the Ba~ OH! 2 1CO2 →BaCO3 1H 2 O
composting vessels weekly to prevent extensive channelling, 12.2.1.2 The BaCO3 formed is insoluble and precipitates.
provide uniform attack on the test specimen and provide an Determine the amount of Ba(OH)2 remaining in solution by
even distribution of moisture. In case excessive moisture levels end-point titration with HCl using phenolpthalein as an indi-
are observed, such as free-standing water in the vessels or cator according to the following equation:
clumping due to high moisture content, remove excess liquid
Ba~ OH! 2 12 HCl→BaCl2 12 H 2 O
by injecting dry air, or by drainage via air inlet. If excessively
dry conditions are observed, that will severely slow down the 12.2.1.3 From the above two equations, it can be seen that
breakdown process, add moisture. During the whole course of the number of mmol of CO2 produced is:
the test, make adjustments to ensure proper composting con-
mmoles HCl
ditions. If adjustments are made, then CO2 and O2 concentra- mmoles of CO2 5 mmoles of Ba~ OH! 2 at start 2
2
tions must be monitored closely during the following 72 h and
measured at least twice daily with a time interval of more than 12.2.2 For the option with gas chromatography, the cumu-
6 h. lative CO2 production (in grams) is determined from the
11.3.5 At the weekly shaking and at the end of the test, measurements of flow rate and gas composition and after
record visual observations with regard to compost structure, recalculation to STP (standard temperature and pressure)
moisture content and color, fungal development, smell of the conditions.
exhaust air, and sample disintegration. 12.2.3 Calculate the amount of cumulative gaseous-carbon
11.3.6 The incubation time of 45 days may be extended if produced by each reactor.
significant biodegradation of the test substance is still being 12.2.4 Determine the mean (of the three replicates) net
observed. gaseous-carbon production by controlled composting of the
11.4 End of the Test: test substances by subtracting the mean gaseous carbon pro-
11.4.1 At the end of the test, weigh the vessels with the duction of the control (three replicates) containing only the
contents and determine the dry solids concentration remaining inoculum.
in the composted material. Volatile solids may be determined if 12.3 Calculate the percent of biodegradation by dividing the
weight loss is to be calculated. average net gaseous-carbon production of the test compound
11.4.2 Measure the pH in conformance with Test Methods by the original average amount of carbon in the test compound
D1293. If the pH is less than 7, measure the volatile fatty acids and multiplying by 100:
spectrum to indicate souring of the contents in the composting
mean C g ~ test! 2 mean C g ~ blank!
vessel in accordance with Practice D2908. Measure the pH by % biodegradation 5 3 100
Ci
diluting the sample on a 5:1 w/w ratio of distilled water to
compost inoculum or residue, mix by shaking manually and where:
measure immediately. Cg = amount of gaseous-carbon produced, g, and
11.4.3 If more than 2 g of volatile fatty acids per kilogram Ci = amount of carbon in test compound added, g.
of dry matter in the composting vessel is formed, the test must
12.4 Calculate the standard error, se, of the percentage of
be regarded as invalid.
biodegradation as follows:
2
12. Calculation S e 5 SQRT~~ s test/n1 ! 1 ~ s 2blank/n2 !! 3 100/C i
n1 and n2 are the number of replicate test and control di-
12.1 Determine the total carbon content of the test material gesters respectively; s is the standard deviation of the total
by elemental analysis or by calculation if the chemical com- gaseous carbon produced.
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D5338 − 15
12.5 Calculate the 95 % confidence limits as follows: 14.1.9 Results on the visual observations of the compost
95 % CL 5 % biodegradation6 ~ t 3 s e ! inoculum and the test material during and at the end of the test,
Where t is the t-distribution value for 95 % probability with such as moisture content, fungal development, structure, color,
(n1 + n2 − 2) degrees of freedom; thus n = 3 + 3 − 2 = 4. and smell,
14.1.10 Describe qualitatively the disintegration of the test
13. Interpretation material in the case of a compact test material. Add further
information, such as photographs or measured physical values,
13.1 Information on the toxicity of the plastic material may
if these are available, and
be useful in the interpretation of inhibitive effects.
14.1.11 Results on weight measurements of compost vessels
13.2 In most instances when investigating a plastic material, at the start and at the end of the test, and test material weight
a reference or control substance known to biodegrade is loss, if determined.
necessary in order to check the activity of the inoculum. If
sufficient biodegradation (a minimum of 70 % for cellulose 15. Precision and Bias
within 45 days) is not observed with the positive reference, the 15.1 The precision and bias of the procedure in this test
test must be regarded as invalid and should be repeated, using method is being determined.
new inoculum. If the deviation of the percentage of biodegra- 15.2 Preliminary results for within-laboratory repeatability
dation of the positive reference is greater than or equal to 20 % testing using a controlled composting set-up with gas chro-
at the end of the test, then the test shall be regarded as invalid. matograph are presented in Table 1. These data represent three
different determinations of the degradation of cellulose as a
14. Report positive reference. The average degradation of cellulose after
14.1 Report the following data and information: 45 days of composting at a constant temperature of 50°C
14.1.1 Information on the inoculum, including source, per- (62°C) was 75.3 %, with an average standard deviation of
cent dry solids, percent volatile solids, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, 2.5 % and an average 95 % confidence limit interval of 5 %.
activity (CO2 production in the first ten days), date of All three runs were carried out within a seven-month period by
collection, storage, and handling. the same operators. Fig. 3, 4, and 5 represent a graphical view
of the third run in which a biodegradability of 78.9 % was
14.1.2 Carbon content of the plastic materials, positive and
obtained as the mean for the three replicates containing
negative control, and calculation of the theoretical maximum
cellulose as the positive control, with a standard deviation of
carbon dioxide production. Report specific information on the
0.3 % and a 95 % confidence limit interval of 2 %. The graphs
size, shape, volume, and thickness of the plastic materials
represent the results from three replicates for the inoculum only
tested, along with the form of the plastic material, that is, sheet,
as the blanks (see Fig. 3), the cellulose as the positive control
powder, pellet, etc.,
(see Fig. 4) and the net CO2 production per gram of cellulose
14.1.3 Weight of vessels with contents before and at the end added (see Fig. 5).
of the test,
14.1.4 Cumulative carbon dioxide evolution and oxygen 16. Keywords
consumption over time and display graphically. Report appa- 16.1 aerobic biodegradation; biodegradation; composting;
ratus used for carrying out the test method, plastics
14.1.5 Percentage of aerobic biodegradation for each plastic
material tested, the standard deviation and 95 % confidence TABLE 1 Results from Within-Laboratory Testing for the Aerobic
interval for each material or control substance tested for the Biodegradability of Cellulose as a Positive Control Under
percent of biodegradation, Controlled Composting Conditions
14.1.6 Percentage of biodegradation relative to the positive Biodegradability Standard 95 % Confidence
after 45 days, % Deviation, % Limit, %
reference (cellulose = 100 %),
Run 1 76.7 4.9 8.2
14.1.7 Temperature range of test, Run 2 70.3 2.4 4.8
14.1.8 pH of compost inoculum and pH of final residues. Run 3 78.9 0.3 2.0
Mean of 75.3 2.5 5.0
Volatile fatty acids concentration for vessels with a final pH of Three Runs
less than 7,
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D5338 − 15
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D5338 − 15
SUMMARY OF CHANGES
Committee D20 has identified the location of selected changes to this standard since the last issue (D5338–11)
that may impact the use of this standard. (June 1, 2015)
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